Meta Retcon
by AMysteriousAuthor
Summary: Conclusion to Four. Uploaded complete, no waiting years between updates this time. The War between The Prophet and The Deserters finally comes to an end.
1. The War

Meta Retcon

AMysteriousAuthor

Meta, _adjective;_ referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential

Part One

 _The War_

The alarms blared and the emergency lights flashed red and orange. As the defense detail regrouped through the corridors, doors sealed electronically behind them. The man leading them was chiseled from marble, with a perfect complexion that was marred only by the scorn etched into the features. While the soldiers behind him wore armor and held ballistic shields, he was dressed in only a black sweater and cargo pants that were bloused into tightly fastened boots. The troops breached the lobby of the building where a large hole was now located beyond the foyer instead of a door, wafting concrete dust about the room.

In the center of the hole stood a tall figure clad in a skin-tight black suit that warped and shifted out of focus. The seams emitted a white glow that accentuated the small armor pieces that were more effective than anything the security detail possessed. A bright light shone from the shoulder, highlighting the '1' etched there. The face was a constantly warping and shifting orb that, though featureless, gave the impression of disappointment.

"Hello Kyle." One said, slightly raising his hands.

"Open fire." The un-armored man ordered, initiating a hell storm of gunfire from the ranks behind him.

The security detail fired in two separate ranks, allowing constant fire to be on the target even through reloads. One didn't try to evade the fire, he just stood still and allowed the bullets to bounce harmlessly away from his body. When the gunfire ended, One lowered his hands and shrugged slightly.

"Was that it, Kyle? I'm disappointed."

"My name is Adam, and that suit is the only reason you're still alive." Adam Kingsley said, gesturing to his detail to back off.

"Your name is Kyle, _my_ name is Adam. I don't know what Grace has done to you but she can't take that away from you." One said, approaching Adam swiftly.

"She saved me. Brought me back to life after you, and everyone else I thought I loved, let me die. I didn't forget Kyle Trager, I rejected him. My name is Adam Kingsley now, and that suit won't save you from _me._ " Adam said with narrowed eyes.

He lunged forward with a powerful strike that One nimbly avoided and they began their deadly dance. One's suit was a body enhancing chamber, it manipulated gravity to an extent where his physical body wasn't depleted of energy when he moved. Despite this, the raw power of Kingsley was evident in his movements and discipline which signaled the two to be evenly matched. Were Adam to connect one of his ferocious punches, One's suit would be damaged irreparably and he would be a normal man against… something else entirely.

With these facts in his head, combined with affection for the boy Kingsley used to be, One only dodged. He only avoided, swirling around the room with swiftness, always just out of Adams ferocious reach. The security detail knew better than to interfere, an errant strike from their captain would decimate any of them.

"You can't want this for your life, Kyle! You're acting like a henchman! You are capable of so much more!" One insisted, completely aware of his surroundings.

"There will be plenty of time left for personal development after this conflict with The Deserters has ended." Adam said passively, not letting up in his torrent of strikes.

"And that means killing me? Killing Jessi? We're your _family_." One said furiously.

"You've chosen your own fate by interrupting Latnok activities for the past decade. We have never sought you out." Adams fist narrowly missed One's head. Could it be that the man inside was tiring?

"Not you personally, Kyle. But I swear to you that if Grace could have found us, she would have ordered a hit squad immediately."

"I don't doubt that. There is nothing you can say that will change me, Adam Baylin. I have chosen who I am, so either fight me or flee but enough of this futile dance." Adam said, ceasing his assault.

One stopped moving as well, but still out of Kingsley's reach just in case.

"What is so important to Latnok in this facility, Kyle? All security assets have been moved here and its out in the middle of the desert." One asked, inclining his head.

"I had guessed the explosive entry was a distraction, but you really have no idea at all, do you?" Adam asked with genuine curiosity.

"Apparently he has no idea." A female voice called from behind the group as the blaring alarms switched off.

Grace Kingsley walked past the soldiers and stood next to her son, raising an eyebrow to One.

"Adam, I presume?" she asked.

"You would be correct. Why do I have no idea?"

"Well I've just come from the rift housing, we had guessed that Jessi would be waiting to attack it while you distracted us here in the lobby but apparently you're on your own." Grace said with a shrug.

"Or maybe she's just really, really stealthy." One suggested but Grace only laughed.

"Jessi is the most formidable obstacle for Latnok on the face of this planet, I am confident she wouldn't resort to stealth." Grace said confidently.

"Good point. What is the rift housing?" One asked with a gesture.

"Why don't you _join_ us, Adam? You can see the rift housing yourself. You can _help_ us. This planet is dying, the human race is becoming ever more volatile and destructive. You see this, everyday, and you know it to be true." Grace said, impassioned.

"There can't be good without the bad, Grace. If your solution for the bad in humanity is to be even worse and strike fear into the rest of us, you're only escalating the problem further. There is no 'cure' for the nature of human beings except choosing for yourself to be better." One said imploringly, Adam Kingsley smirked.

"You're wrong, Baylin. We can _make_ people choose that without the need for some sort of conscience awakening on a person-to-person basis." Adam said.

"But that's not truly goodness. It's just another form of control that the human nature will eventually rebel against and things will be worse than ever." One beseeched them both.

Grace just shrugged, "If it works, even temporarily, then it's worth whatever comes after it."

"I can't let you tamper with things like this, Grace. It is beyond science, it's beyond progress… you're suggesting an enslavement of our entire species to passiveness." One clenched both fists.

"You are my inspiration for it, Adam! You've gone to incredible lengths to avoid conflict, even going so far as to die for peaceful resolutions. Our son proves that this world would be much better if more people were like you and him." Grace said, gesturing to Adam.

"Kyle was good because of the love and care provided for him by the Trager family, not because he was chemically altered to be that way. Look at him now, this death machine you've converted him into! This is what your influence does to people, Grace. You take what is natural and self-governing and turn it into whatever you need it to be at the time." One took a step forward angrily.

"You're determined that we need to be villains, and that's fine. Just know that it isn't true, and it would all be much better if you help us rather than constantly hinder us." Grace said sadly.

"I could never help you, Grace. We both know that our ideas and our methods differ too radically." One said, hanging his head.

"You could be the moral compass, then. We can all agree that Latnok goes too far sometimes, if anything your assistance could point us towards the right direction. Join us. Lead us. Mentor me, as you were always meant to… Father." Adam Kingsley said, holding out his hand.

Grace held hers out as well and One glanced between the two of them. He reached out to them both slowly, cautiously. His hand closed around theirs and they both smiled to him. Suddenly, Adam Kingsley turned rapidly and pulled One's arm clean off. He kicked upwards behind him and caught One under the chin, separating his head from his body. It all happened so fast that the grip pressure of the hand Grace held didn't even change.

She let go and stepped back as the body slumped to the ground and the head bounced off the floor ten feet behind it. Adam inspected the socket which was clear of blood or flesh.

"A drone suit." He confirmed, dropping the arm as it and the torso combusted.

"And that is why we will never stop fighting you, Prophet." Adam Baylin's voice echoed from the disembodied head as it, too, combusted.

"Fix that hole and get back to work. I've had enough distractions for one day." Grace sighed, walking past the men and back down the hall.

Adam stepped out of the ruined building and into the warm Nevada sun. He looked across the surrounding rocky hills and strewn rubble that was the Mojave Desert and frowned. This wasn't the first probe The Deserters had sent but it was the most refined. They had only risked a suit one time previously and it, too, had combusted. Adam closed his eyes and focused, bringing in all the life surrounding them for up to fifty miles.

 _Jessi._

His voice radiated out in a wave across the sand. He had tried this before without success but there was a small part of him that hoped it would work. He remembered very little about being Kyle XY, but Jessi XX was in that small part. Her aggression, her ferocity… her beauty. He remembered slashing open her face in Seattle when she told him Amanda was dead, he remembered the fury that rose within him so brutally that it took a division of Latnok troops to contain him but not before he tore through eight lives. He remembered her crying face over his corpse. He remembered the first time he had ever seen her, across the flames on that beach…

There was no answer, which didn't surprise him. What _did_ surprise him was that his feet began to move in a seemingly random direction and before he knew it he was out of sight of the small Latnok compound and wandering aimlessly into the desert. Something was _pulling_ him this way, and it didn't make any sense at all. The part of him that was Adam Kingsley was dominant, comprising 99.99% of his actions, decisions and ultimately his personality. The part of him that was Kyle Trager was still in there, in his memories, and it was this part which told him to venture this way.

He shook it off and turned away, heading back to Latnok. He was alive because he was Adam Kingsley. Kyle Trager was dead, killed for his stupidity and recklessness. He would never make a choice based on raw emotion ever again. He would only ever make choices that were necessary to his continued survival. He would continue to be Adam Kingsley and he would stay alive to one day become Latnok, or The Prophet, and lead the world into a peace that would last long after his death.

The Deserters, the Fugitives, the Szokeveny… Jessi. They were the embodiment of all that was wrong with humanity. They would either convert to Adams way of thinking, or they would die. Adam stepped back through the ruined lobby as a construction crew was already measuring the stone. He proceeded through to the elevator and rode it down to the machine that would change the world forever.

The Rift.

Baylin had collapsed when they removed the remote control from his head. Four had said, time and time again, that it should be her and not him. Baylin had countered that the suit would better respond to his control and it was essential to have full control for the mission. It was the last suit excepting the one that was fastened to the body of Jessi Hollander. Now all their assets, all their hope, was stashed away in the cave with them only ten miles away from the Latnok facility. Patrols often came within sight of the cave entrance but the projectors Four had designed kept them well hidden.

Dennis wiped the dying mans forehead with a damp cloth. Declan fidgeted in the corner while cleaning a rifle and Four was kneeling next to Baylin as he explained all he had learned from the remote scans.

"So it's a rift, whatever that means. And that's the only other floor in the facility. They couldn't have given us a better target if we wanted them to." Four said

"Latnok doesn't do anything without protocols on top of protocols that protect them. There's no way it's that simple." Foss offered, looking at the rudimentary 3D scan.

"It's an incomplete facility that was placed here specifically to hide from us. That, and the fact that they have Adam there, is all Latnok needs to feel secure." Dennis said solemnly.

"It doesn't matter. Maybe it's a trap, maybe it's a lucky break for us. Either way, this is the best chance we're ever going to have to finish this. Grace is there. Adam is there. Even if we can't dismantle their ultimate project, we can kill the Kingsley's. Cassidy might have more clout with the board and be in charge of a broad range of projects elsewhere but if we can get the Kingsley's, that's good enough for me to call this war a victory." Four said angrily.

"No… Latnok is… enemy… not… not Kyle." Baylin managed.

"I appreciate the feedback, Baylin, but you're dying. Do us a favor and do it quietly." Four said harshly, standing up.

"Jessi!" Dennis exclaimed but Four silenced him with a glare.

"You'll forgive me if I can't find any tears to shed. I've seen him die before and this is a war, there's bound to be casualties. It's been almost ten years since I watched Kyle die and _all_ of our lives went to hell, now we can finally end it. I'm tired of scraping by every day, being fueled by hatred of those who created me. I'm going to that facility, I'm going to kill everyone in it including Adam and Grace and then I'm going to destroy whatever machines they have in there. If you want to join me, let's go. If you want to mourn Adam, stay here. If you want to call it quits now, you know where we stored the truck so grab it and go." Four walked out of the cave, her veil helmet closing around her head and face.

Declan snapped his rifle closed and jogged after her, Foss stood and followed them both. Dennis gripped Adams hand sadly.

"What… have… what did I… do, Dennis?" Adam asked him, tears streaking down his face.

"You changed the damn world, Adam. You changed the god-damned world." Dennis said sadly, patting the other mans hand, and left him to die alone.

He jumped into the bed of the truck with Declan in the passengers seat and Foss driving as they sped to catch up to Four who was gliding along the desert floor almost faster than the truck could go. The four people convened outside the Latnok facility which had already buttoned down the hatches and had Adam Kingsley standing in front of the vulnerable hole.

"What's the attack plan?" Dennis asked Four, who did not look at him.

"Shoot who you can, Kingsley is mine." Four said and flew away, towards the enemy.

There were no attempts at dodging or avoiding this time and Adam smiled as the true identity of the person in the armor was confirmed. Four crashed into him with amazing force and he slammed his fist under her chin. The resulting clash sent a shockwave across the ground that broke off even more of the facility. Adam grabbed Four by the shoulders and drew her in to a grapple as they both spun into the lobby.

"Was it Baylins death that made you finally snap?" Adam asked as if genuinely curious.

"I haven't snapped, you just showed your hand too early." Four retorted, spinning around and locking Adam into a choke hold.

"If it were just confidence you would have planned better, after all now I can just do this!" Adam grunted and Dennis, Foss and Declan all collapsed.

A mental spike, Kyle's specialty, strong enough to kill a normal person. They never had a chance, and that was why they had to largely avoid confrontations with Adam before. Four only tightened her grip on his neck, genuinely trying to crush it.

"It's worth it, if you die." Four snarled and wrenched her arms, collapsing Adams windpipe and breaking his neck.

He fell forward with Four giving his body a small shove. She placed her boot on his skull as the security detail rushed out of the elevator with Grace at their front.

"Stay gone this time." Four murmured and stomped.

"NOOOO! Fire Fire Fire!" Grace screamed and they did, sending bullets raining down on Four who moved through them like a snake, thrusting her knives through the weak points of all their armor.

Grace fell backwards against the wall but Four grabbed her by the blouse and dragged her to the elevator. She hit the down arrow and the doors closed on the two of them.

"What have you done...?" Grace moaned, grabbing her head.

Four turned towards her in fury, bumping her nose against the solid veil.

"I've finally ended this, Kingsley." She snarled and pulled back as the doors opened.

"You're a monster…" Grace gasped as Four pushed her into the room.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black, now how do I dismantle this monstrosity?" Four scoffed.

The machine in front of her was, seemingly, not a machine at all. It was a platform with an oval resting on top of it.

"Just smash it, isn't that the way you do everything?" Grace hissed.

Four darted forward in agreement, ready to destroy the 'wormhole' when she quite suddenly was standing in the middle of the Mojave desert. She turned around and saw nothing but desert that spanned as far as even she could see.

"Oh what now?" Four sighed.


	2. Beyond the Rift

Retroactive, _adjective_ ; taking effect from a date in the past

Part Two

 _Beyond The Rift_

Four could never manage to fly in the suit. The capability was there, she was convinced of that, but there was always something that held her back. Something that resembled fear or inhibition, maybe even nervousness. That was how she came to realize she was in another place completely, another world, because she could fly. Four rocketed across the desert before coming to what was very clearly the Las Vegas Strip, where she landed. She removed her veil, shook out her hair and approached the first group of people she saw.

"Where am I?" She asked them.

One of the men was overjoyed at the sight of her and literally jumped, clapping his hands.

"See? I told you, actors are always in Vegas! Whats up, I'm Nick. Loved you in Thor." He said coolly.

"What are you talking about? Where am I?" Four asked aggressively.

"Whoa chill out Sif, damn! Must be method acting or something… but shit, you're in Vegas baby!" He hollered and his friends agreed and began 'whoop'ing.

A crowd began to gather around her taking pictures and drawing more and more attention. Four closed the veil and flew away trying not to focus on the astonished sounds that the people uttered below. Using her suits GPS, she plugged in the coordinates for the Latnok facility using this 'Vegas' in place of the Vegas from her world and landed where it said the facility was located. But there was no facility. It was just the same place of desert she had ended up in after attempting to destroy the wormhole.

"Well this is a problem." Four growled.

It wouldn't be, if she had killed Grace. If she had killed Grace before charging that damn machine, everything that happened afterwards would have been fine. But that bitch was still alive, probably already trying to figure out how to Frankenstein her precious baby boy back to life. Four shook her head and flew back to the city, removing her veil and landing in the middle of a crowd who looked at her and all cheered. She approached one randomly and grabbed him by the collar.

"Do you know me?" she asked harshly.

The man she held was too scared to speak but one of the other crowd people who snapped a picture of her smiled widely and said, "Of course we know you! It's bullshit you weren't in Ragnarok!"

Four released the man she held and stepped over to the one who claimed to know her, although by this time she was beginning to get surrounded by the crowd.

"Hey, back off people!" She yelled but they encroached her even more.

"I said, back… OFF!" Four cried and released a shockwave, flinging people away from her. The cries of joy turned to cries of terror and people began to flee. Four grabbed the man before he could leave, he was no longer smiling.

"How do you know me?" She asked furiously.

"You're an actress you were in Thor! You're in that awful show about tattoos, I dunno lady!" He cried.

Four thought as quickly as she could, she heard the police sirens destined for her location.

"Where do I live?" she asked him.

"Aw how the hell would I know that?" he asked her desperately.

"You best take a good guess, pal." She snarled, tightening her grip.

"Hollywood, that's where all the actors live, right?" he asked blubbering.

It was good enough for her, she released him and took flight, activating her veil again. This was a new world, a different world, but it seemed to resemble the world she came from quite a bit. She attempted to access the internet via the HUD in her helmet but there was no connection.

"There wouldn't be, different signals and all that." She grumbled.

So, Latnok had created a machine that was capable of generating or sustaining a rift in space and time. Not only that, but the multiple worlds theory held true and there was a being here in this place with her features. Jessi Hollander may have been impressed by all this, but Four was not. It was only an annoyance, yet another obstacle between her and her revenge. It was also very worrisome, because according to the HUD, she was depleting power quickly. She would reach Hollywood, but after that the suit would lose most functions. She would have to very quickly find a way to convert the solar panels to pick up the current suns' energy.

It didn't make sense. Solar energy was solar energy, it shouldn't matter that it's a _different_ sun. Four shook her head in irritation and focused on the flight ahead of her. Dwelling on problems out of her current control wasn't something that Four was fond of doing. Like sentiment, she rejected despair out of necessity. Yes, she watched Dennis, Foss, and Declan all fall down dead not twenty minutes before but it felt distant and of little significance to her. She always had an idea of how the war would end, and it included everyone fighting it to be dead.

The flight was faster than she had imagined. She did mark with some contempt what a miracle it was that while some of her systems didn't work at all, the gravity manipulators worked _even better_. It turns out when moving an object across a planet, using the gravity is much faster and more efficient than _beating_ the gravity. She landed quite abruptly in the middle of a nondescript studio lot in the center of Hollywood. That's when she saw him.

Adam Kingsley stepped outside of a nearby trailer. He looked _older_ , and his face was marked by light facial hair, but there could be no doubt that it was him. She raced forward, ignoring the screams of the people around them and grabbed him by the throat.

"What is this, Kingsley? Where are we?" Four roared metallically.

A man ran into her, hard. He flew backwards with a bloody head and into some nearby chairs.

"Please…" the man in Fours' grip croaked, desperately clutching at her wrist.

Four dropped him with disgust, snapping to the screaming people, "Shut up!"

The area quieted and the man in front of her stood up. His face was flushed, his eyes bloodshot and he was gasping for air. It was around this time that Four remembered that is _she_ had a doppelganger here, then Adam might have one as well.

"You're not Adam Kingsley, are you?" Four asked him, jabbing her finger into his chest.

"No… no…" he groaned, clutching his neck.

Four lowered her hand and her head in shame. That was exactly the stupid emotional reaction that Jessi Hollander would have made.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the bystanders asked and Four turned towards them rapidly.

"Stop… stop…" The Adam-lookalike said, still rubbing his windpipe.

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake." Four said, removing her veil.

The surrounding crowd gasped and jumped back, even the choked man looked surprised.

"Jaimie?! What happened… to your eye?" he asked.

"So you know me. Who are you?" Four asked.

The man stood up straight and looked to the other people for support, but they were just as confused. One of them shrugged unhelpfully.

"Is this a bit, Jaimie? Like… are you doing some new role?" he asked.

"I just wrenched you into the air by your neck, man. You think that was _acting_? I'm not… Jaimie. I'm Four." Four said with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay… 'Four', I'm Matt. And you look an awful lot like Jaimie Alexander." Matt offered as the man behind Four stood up.

A few people came forward to assist his bloodied head but he just glared at Four.

"This is private property, Ms. Alexander, you cant just come in here and assault people, even friends." He said, clearly dizzy.

Four turned towards him, sized him up, and then just let out a single 'Ha' and turned back to Matt.

"I've been told. Where am I, exactly?" Four asked, crossing her arms.

"Why don't we talk in my trailer?" Matt asked, scanning the people around him.

Four glanced towards them and realized what a bizarre scenario it must be for the people around them. She nodded at Matt and he opened the door for her.

"I'll be right outside, Mr. Dallas." The injured security guard said, eliciting another laugh from Four.

Matt shut the door behind them and Four sat in a chair as Matt took the one across from her.

"Okay, Jaimie, what's up? Are you… have you been maybe drinking a little too…" Matt began but was cut off.

"Enough. I'm not Jaimie Alexander, okay? My name is Four. I'm not from this world. I'm from a world very similar to this, but not this one. I need to find a way back." Four said tiredly.

Matt just put his finger and thumb on either side of the bridge of his nose and winced.

"Okay. Well, 'Four', I have nothing to offer you. I'm an actor, not a… I dunno, physicist." He muttered.

"You're an actor too? Why is everyone an actor?" Four asked loudly, growing impatient.

"I don't know, because it's awesome? Look, I don't know if you're doing a bit or just messing around but… damn, Jaimie, that choke was really something. I'm gonna bruise." Matt said, rubbing his aching neck.

"I'm _not_ Jaimie! And you're making me wish I had finished the job, Matt. How do you and my counterpart know each other? Is this some parallel dimension where everyone is an actor?" Four said aggressively.

"Oh it's this, is it? This is a weird way to hit on me, Jaimie. You remember I'm gay, right?"

"Matt..!"

"Okay, okay… I'll play along, damn… we met like twelve years ago doing Kyle XY and…" Matt stopped by the alertness in Four's expression.

"What was that?" she asked intensely.

"Kyle XY? The show we first worked on together, shot in Vancouver… you came on for season two…" Matt trailed off in concern.

Four was pale and clamming up. The implications of what he had said struck deep in her stomach and she began to tremble slightly.

"You tell me… you tell me right now, what was my character's name?" Four asked.

"Uh… it was Jessi, right?"

Four felt her consciousness slip but she tried to hold on. She steadied herself on the arm of the chair and felt the suit using it's depleted energy to try and keep her awake.

"Are you okay, Jaimie?" Matt asked with concern.

"Matt… I told you, I'm not Jaimie. My name is Four, and before I was called that my name was Jessi Hollander. I knew someone that looked like you, he looked _a lot_ like you, and his name was Kyle Trager." Four told him, staring into his eyes.

Matt paused for a moment to let it sink in, then broke out in a genuine Kyle-smile and chuckled.

"Oh! So this is like a pitch? Is Julie behind this, where is she?" He asked happily, glancing around.

"Moron…! This isn't a _pitch_. Tell me everything you know about the show." Four demanded.

"Well it had three seasons, I played Kyle who was an amnesiac. The show covers me learning about where I came from…"

"Zzyzx." Four spat.

"Yeah… well, in season two in turns out there was another experiment at the same lab but she was a female. So some corrupt corporation…"

"Madacorp." Four prompted.

"Yeah, something like that… So, Madacorp wants to use me as like a biological computer or something, so they use this other experiment to try and corrupt me but she turns out to be good and we take down Madacorp together."

"She turns out to be good, huh… ha, is that how it was?" Four mumbled.

"Yeah, you were a fan favorite. Remember, the Jessi character was supposed to kick the bucket at the end of the season but they loved you so much that they wrote a way to put you in season three." Matt prompted, smiling slightly while still looking concerned.

"I was supposed to 'kick the bucket', well it's not like I didn't try… what happened in Season Three?" Four propped.

"Ah well… season three, you know… the producers wanted to go bigger, you know. They wanted bigger stakes, more action, a more honest look into these genetically enhanced individuals and what they could achieve so that meant a bigger budget. But, the studio had a competing show that was doing better for less money and ultimately they decided to pull the plug. Kyle XY was cancelled, but it was fun while we had it… and I'm definitely open to going back, if that's what this is all about." He said.

Four rolled her eyes at the Kyle-like sentiment and said, "Tell me about the _plot_ of season three."

"Oh… damn, crazy stuff. Lots of teen drama with a love triangle, um, there was a weird antagonist like a shadowy organization…"

"Latnok."

"Sure, Latnok, all illuminati and shit… yeah, Latnok, and the head of Latnok was played by Hal, and he turned out to be my brother I think… anyway, it ended mid-season at this cliffhanger where I'm strangling Hal, kinda like you did to me outside." Matt shrugged.

Four slumped backwards. She brought her hands up to her face and groaned a little.

"It ended on the patio that night? That was the end?" Four asked.

"Yeah… a lot of fans weren't happy with it. I'm asked about it every time someone recognizes me ha-ha… but yep, that was the end, well except for fan fictions." Matt chuckled.

"And what is that?" Four asked, exhausted.

"You know, where fans make stories for the characters. They put them in crazy situations, usually, or just have them all bang each other. There's actually a few sites dedicated to them, I read them sometimes." Matt said.

"So, in these fan fictions… is there a possibility of a continuation where I fail to save Kyle, he dies, and I have to spend a decade at war with Latnok, culminating in the rifting of time and space and sending me to the world where fanfictions originally come from?" Four asked skeptically.

"That definitely sounds like fan fiction, yep. But it's a good starting point, interesting enough for me!" Matt smiled.

Four closed her eyes. Everything she was hearing was almost too much. It formed a knot in her stomach. This was world that created her as a character for a television show, and then that was expanded on by some… 'fan' who warped her future to their own desires. Matt handed his phone to her with a website bannered in blue and multiple entries.

"This is the biggest one, there's hundreds of 'em on there." He said helpfully.

Trembling, Four typed her own name in the search bar and changed the parameters to 'TV Show' and 'Kyle XY'. A few results turned up, but there was only one that stood out. It was simply titled 'Four' and as she scrolled through the chapters, tears formed unexpectedly in her eyes. It was all here, all the crazy stuff that had happened that final summer, all the way until Cassidy had killed Kyle. Then it was all passed over and Four gritted her teeth. Not enough juicy details in those years, she supposed.

"A mysterious author? What is this?" Four asked, showing Matt the phone.

"Probably the fan that wrote it… wait…" Matt started reading over the chapters and glancing up at Four.

"This isn't the template you're thinking of adopting? We can do better than this… well, depressing fanfic." He protested.

Four didn't bother correcting his assumptions. It was a hard thing to accept that a fictional character had come to life and was sitting across from him. She just stared at the screen for the longest time, running her gloved thumb across the small pixels that made up 'AMysteriousAuthor'. One of the notes said something about feeling sorry for the disappointment the tale might bring… the disappointment.

"What about the misery? What about the pain, you sick bastard…" Four gritted her teeth.

She shook her head and handed the phone back to Matt, standing and glancing around the trailer. It was a nice trailer and it was connecting to a real power source, not a generator. It would do. She glanced up at Matt with narrowed eyes and he shrank back slightly.

"I need to use your trailer's power source to make alterations to my suit." She said sternly.

"Well… yeah, I mean, you know you're welcome to…" Four unsealed her suit and it fell to the floor with a thump, leaving her nude.

"I'll just give you some privacy. Feel free to use the shower, and uh… anything from the 'fridge." Matt said, averting his eyes and exiting.

Four began to strip wiring from the trailer floor, but no matter how hard she tried the suit would not charge. It wouldn't hold energy. After about two hours she hopped in the shower and let the warm water pour over her hair and skin. Her hair was thin and wiry, her flesh bruised and creased. She no longer seemed to be a perfect version of herself, she was war torn and broken. Her thoughts wandered to her fictional world, what was Grace up to? Would she be bringing Adam back to life and coming through, or was the wormhole itself a trap laid just for her?

"They won't _do_ anything. They're characters in damn _story_." She muttered venomously.

It was almost all too much to think about. Four still possessed Jessi Hollanders exceptional brain, but even with it the idea that she was purely a work of fiction was difficult to reconcile. If her universe was fictional and yet she could travel to the universe that created her own, did it still mean it was fictional? Her head hurt. She exited the shower and laid on Matts bed, closing her eyes and sighing loudly to the air. If the suit no longer functioned, was she the still the fourth deserter? Or was she just a lesser version of Jessi?

"Ahem." Matt coughed from the door.

"Come in." Four said lazily.

"No… no luck with the suit alterations?" He asked, sitting down in the chair.

"I can't make changes to the suit because it's not real. I'm not real. I'm a character here." She said loudly, putting her hand over her eyes.

"Well I… I have some clothes here if you want…" Matt said, pulling a loose t shirt and jogging pants from a cabinet.

"What if I can't wear your clothes because I'm a fake?" Four asked sarcastically, but accepted the clothing and pulled it on.

"So I've been thinking about this scenario… how can you be sure you're not still being written?" Matt asked.

"What?" she responded, irritated.

"Well, now hear me out, if someone wrote that you came here, then did you break free of their control? Or are you now just being written by someone _beyond_ this place? It gets a little crazy to think about but how can someone be controlling your actions without also controlling mine?" Matt asked, sitting back.

Four mulled around the question, it also made her head throb. Different tiers of omnipotence was a very perilous road to journey down, one that could only end with misery.

"I think I have to find this person." Four said aloud, sitting up suddenly.

Matt shrank back slightly with concern but then just shrugged and handed her his phone again.

"If you're really Jessi, it shouldn't be a problem for you." He offered.

Four just nodded and began to do her work. The coding infrastructure was more complex than anything she had ever seen before (probably because it was _real_ ) but she could still wrap her head around it. The person that posted the story had done so over the period of six years and from different locations from Georgia to Oklahoma to Texas. The IP addresses had all been different except for one… a mobile IP address.

"Your cell phone…" Four muttered.

She was able to ping the cell phone to a park near Austin, Texas. It belonged to a twenty six year old named Devin Oswald and he currently rented out an apartment near the park. Four turned towards Matt with a look that was somewhere between beseeching and angry.

"I have to get to Austin, Texas." She stated.

Matt chuckled and shook his head wide, retaining his smile.

"I'll spot you a plane ticket and even a rental car, but you owe me one, Jaimie."

Four packed up her deserter suit and carried under her arm like a purse. The armor chunks were thin and flexible allowing it to be stowed fairly discreetly. Matt saw her to the taxi and gave her a hug.

"Don't a stranger, we shouldn't have to wait for alternate dimensions and drunken nights out to see each other." He smiled into her shoulder.

Four felt the familiar warmth of Kyle blossoming in her heart and she stepped back from him swiftly.

"Thank you, Matt." Was all she said before departing.


	3. Home

Continuity, _noun_ ; the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time.

Part Three

 _Home_

The flight was a blur. The next thing Four knew, she was driving through the streets of Austin, Texas. The streets were confusing with some left turns being inaccessible due to the road being a one way but not marked that way. Walking paths across bridges were almost as wide as the lane in the road. There were people everywhere, wearing bright colors and outlandish clothing. She pulled into a parking lot in between a bridge and Champions Park, where Oswald had been pinging for hours. She saw him with two other people, seemingly wandering aimlessly around in the grass. He had a backpack and a hat on, blaring an obnoxious instrumental from a portable speaker.

Four didn't care that she wasn't dressed for the occasion, still only wearing the two pieces of clothing that Matt had given her. She exited the vehicle and marched across the grass, oddly not drawing too many looks from the people she passed. Four approached him angrily and Devin turned towards her.

"Devin Oswald?" Four asked icily.

The man only nodded, stunned by her appearance. Four drew back and punched him as hard as she could in the chin, throwing him backwards and into the air. His two friends approached with concern, one of them looking confused as he recognized Four's features. Douglas was still too stunned to make a sound, he just clasped his hand over his mouth as blood from his bitten tongue leaked through his fingers.

"You son of a _bitch_." Four snarled.

"Whoa lady, you can't punch people out in public there are cops in this park." One of his friends said.

"Shut up. Get up, Oscar!" Four roared, advancing on the fallen man.

"Please… wait…" Douglas sputtered, holding up his hands in a defensive posture.

His two friends, Lee and Tom, helped him up and stood between him and Four.

"You guys wanna take this somewhere more quiet?" Lee suggested, glancing around at the decidedly larger amount of people looking at them now.

"I don't know, Devin, _may I_?" Four spat.

"Dude, what the f…" Tom muttered.

"Yeah lets… lets talk, over there." Devin gestured to the parking lot.

They congregated around a red Jeep and Four crossed her arms angrily as Devin rubbed his jaw.

"Aren't you the chick from 'Thor?'" Lee asked.

"No… she's not. This is Four." Devin answered and ignited rage in her again.

"So you do recognize me." She hissed.

Devin sighed and slid his backpack off his shoulders, setting it on the ground and kneeling next to it. He reached in and pulled out a Latnok ring, handing it to her.

"A few weeks ago, Adam Kingsley visited me. I thought I was going crazy, but he demonstrated what he could do. I knew it wasn't a trick. It was for real." He told her.

A silence hung between them and Tom and Lee looked at each other sideways.

"What the heck are you talking about, Devin?" Tom asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, man… I barely believe it and she's standing right in front of me." Devin sighed, shaking his head.

"So he visited you, tracked you down just like I did. What did he say?" Four asked with narrowed eyes.

"He said they were going to lure you here and hopefully get you trapped here so you couldn't interfere anymore. I swear to you, I didn't have this in mind when I started writing it, Jessi. It was just a dumb story, I started it so long ago… I had no idea it was real somewhere." Devin said desperately, trying to get her to understand.

"Yeah, well, it was. My life has been hell, Devin… absolute Hell." Four sighed and lowered her head.

"You guys gonna explain what the hell's going on or are we just gonna pretend this isn't Sif wearing no bra in front of us?" Lee asked generally.

"When I was a teenager I started writing this fan fiction for a show I used to watch. It took a long time to finish and it took a really dark turn. This is a character from that story." Devin said seriously.

Tom and Lee looked at each other pointedly and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"You couldn't have written her naked?" Tom asked.

"Oh get off it!" Devin exclaimed and the other two laughed, walking off in a 'he's crazy' sort of fashion.

"How did Adam leave this place?" Four asked.

Devin turned back to her, prepared to feign ignorance but she grabbed him and pinned him against the car.

"How did he leave, Oswald, and before you lie let me remind you that as far as I'm concerned you're more responsible than anyone for the shithole that is my life." She snarled.

"I'm sorry!" Devin yelped, tears forming.

"No! No, you do _not_ get to cry! You made me tough, so you better toughen up boy! Now, how did Adam get back? How did Adam get back?!" She cried.

"He built a rift on this side as well! It's in Seattle, at the cabin that belongs to Adam Baylin in the story!" Devin cried out, covering his face.

"It's not just a story, Oswald, it's my life!" She shoved him to the ground and he went with no resistance.

"Next time you have an inkling about playing God, maybe try for a better story you ass." Four snarled and stomped away.

The following drive was long but it, too, passed like a blur. Day faded to night and bled back into day. Four noted with some curiosity that she wasn't tired. She hadn't slept since coming through but it never hit her, she was still wide awake as she pulled the car off the main road and into the dirt of Washington state. The air was familiar and after ten years of dirty and bloody conflict, she finally felt like she had come home. She decided that she would put back on her deserter armor before going through, and hopefully it would charge rather quickly before someone shot her in the head.

Not even once did she consider staying in this world. Four was singularly focused, and the subject of her focus was Grace Kingsley. From the beginning, it had been Grace that tainted the experiment with her presence. It had been Grace that drove Adam and Sarah apart. It had been Grace that spawned Cassidy and ultimately took Kyle away. It had been Grace that took Jessi Hollander and turned her into Four. Yes, Devin was responsible for the narrative, but as a character inside that narrative Four was focused on what was in her control. She did wonder, if she killed Devin in this world, would hers even be there when she returned?

The cabin came into view around a shrub and Four stepped on the brake hard. Of course he was standing outside, waiting. He had Oswald in his palm, and the little rat reported to him immediately. Four glanced back at her suit but nothing had changed with it, it was just a wad of cloth and plastic. Adam Kingsley smiled wide and spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. Four considered running him over but she didn't want to risk damaging the machine inside. Instead she took a deep breath and parked the car.

"I expected you sooner, you must not be in any hurry to get back." Adam called.

Four disembarked the vehicle and Adam assessed her attire.

"I knew you wouldn't have the suit but I didn't think you would be so… poorly dressed." He said smugly.

"Cut the crap, Kingsley. What is this?" she asked.

"Ha-ha, so aggressive… you know, last time we saw each other, you crushed my skull." He reminded her but Four retained her resolve.

"Obviously it wasn't enough." She remarked.

"No… no unfortunately I'm made of stronger stuff than that. I bounce back. Adam always thought that I would snap out of it and be Kyle again, but you never did… you just wanted me dead." Adam stated, walking into the shade of the porch with Four trailing him.

"Kyle died, at the hands of a psychopath. He was shot and tortured, knowing that the love of his life might be suffering the same fate somewhere else. Even in that moment, when I tried to end Cassidy's life, Kyle asked me to spare him. 'Mercy' he said. That was his last word, pleading with me to be merciful. That's how I know there's no trace of him still in you, Kingsley. Because Kyle would rather die than hurt someone else." Four informed him, growing angry.

Adam was silent as he looked across the pond in front of them, contemplating. Four considered just attacking him right then but there was something different about him here, something less menacing. He rested his hand on the overhang support and exhaled loudly.

"There's no secret rejuvenating process… Grace harvested the genetic code of Kyle and made clones. Lifeless dolls until she turns us on, we're more of a product than a person." Adam turned towards her.

"But it's different for me. The only reason I knew about you destroying my counterpart is because I saw it in your head as you approached. In this place, I'm no longer connected to Latnok. I stand apart, like the piece of me that says your name into the desert hoping for a reply. I'm not Adam here, and you're not Four. We're Kyle and Jessi." He said, turning towards her with shimmering eyes.

Hearing her name from his mouth was surreal, it took her back… but it didn't disarm her. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Here or there, you're not Kyle. Geography doesn't change what we are. I'm Four because I chose to be, to win the war. That doesn't change because I'm here. That doesn't change without the suit." She said icily.

Adam strode to her and she tensed but he just grabbed her hand with both of his own.

"Kyle is in here, just as much as Adam is. The difference here is that I can choose to be more Kyle and less Adam. I didn't ask to exist, Jessi, but I am asking you now to allow me to exist." He pleaded and she was taken aback.

"Allow you to exist? What does that mean?"

He lifted her hand to eye level and placed it on the side of his face.

"I'm not Kyle, I'm not Adam, I'm just me. I don't want to die and I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to be a part of this war." He insisted.

It sounded good and he sold it very well, but Four had heard similar sob stories from Adam before and they never amounted to anything. Different world or not, this was the man that killed everyone on her side. Still, she couldn't deny that his cheek felt like Kyle. He even flushed when he was focused, just like Kyle. His eyes were the same smoldering blue, his lips parted the same, slight way…

Four realized she was leaning in as soon as he tilted his head to the side and wrenched her own head back. She shoved Adam away from her and dug her fingers into her hair.

"No! No! NO! This is over! I'm ending this, NOW!" She yelled at him and clenched her fists, assuming a fighting stance.

"This will never end, Jessi! Grace has access to infinite worlds, infinite realities! There is no scenario where you 'win'. The war was lost before it even began, and you know it! Let go of your hatred, let go of your rage and stay here with me." Adam pleaded, offering his hand.

Four's eyes began to water but she quickly smudged them away. Deep down she had always feared it was a futile endeavor and here was Kyle, confirming her fears. It was too much to try and accept so she did what she always did when things got too hard: she fought back.

Four lunged forward with a sluggish punch that connected and made Adam double over.

"Jessi, No!" He gasped.

She planted her leg across his and threw him over it, sending him slamming to the ground. Suddenly she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head and was able to raise a rudimentary mental barrier just in time to protect against the spike. It had been a very long time since she had attempted one, preferring to use the suits capabilities for most of her combat. Adam leapt back up and faced her, but not in his normal combat stance. Instead, he retained the sad look.

"This is exactly what they want, Jessi." He said.

She feinted a front kick and instead connected a roundhouse with the crook of his neck, staggering him to the left but not knocking him down. He raised his arms to wither side of his face and balled his fists.

"Alright, we'll do it your way." He conceded sadly.

They entered a dance, a flurry of punches and kicks, tumbles and tackles. All the while, Adam barraged her mind with spikes and she defended against them all. They began to grapple with Four taking the lead early on and getting his back. Unfortunately, without the suit there was no satisfying crushing of his neck and instead he flipped out of it and pinned her to the porch floor.

"I don't want to kill you, stupid girl!" He insisted.

She elbowed him in the eye, splitting the skin and drawing blood. He rolled off, grabbing the wound instinctively. She stood above him menacingly and slammed her foot down with Adam narrowly dodging the blow. Four followed through with her knee, mounting his chest and unleashing a barrage of punches into Adams face. His arms pinned, his legs and spikes worthless, Adam was at her mercy which didn't really exist. Four slammed her bare fists into his face over and over, crushing his flesh to the bone beneath and drawing blood. She didn't realize she was screaming, she didn't realize she was crying… all she felt was rage. A familiar rage that was her constant companion and her worst enemy.

"Jessi…" Adam choked.

She stopped. The barrages had stopped, he had stopped struggling, and she was just slamming his brain into his skull at this point. Blood dripped from all of the orifices on his head, pooling around him soaking into the soft wood below. She rested her fists on his chest and sobbed softly, his blood staining her knuckles. Adam reached his hand up and touched her thigh softly and she looked into his eyes.

"Jessi…" he croaked.

"I'm here Kyle, I'm here…" she managed, smearing his blood across her face as she wiped away the tears.

"I'm sorry… I didn't believe in you." He choked out.

Jessi laughed as tears flowed down her cheeks. He was there with her, even if only for a moment. The boy from the warehouse, the boy in the pod, Kyle XY. His hand flopped down and he faded away softly, closing his eyes. Jessi sniffed deeply, standing up and stepping away from his body. Here was Jessi Hollander back from the dead, no longer hiding behind the mantle of the warlord called 'Four'. Four would have never cried over spilled Kingsley, but Jessi couldn't stop herself.

She slunk back to the car and produced the Four suit, donning it for the last time. Its power was completely depleted so she was unable to seal the veil but the suit conformed to her again like she had never taken it off.

"Just because I'm wearing you, doesn't mean I'm Four again." She told it, but the suit didn't respond.

Jessi walked inside the cabin, stepping over the body at the front door, and descended to the basement below where a familiar looking oval sat on a platform. Jessi walked around it, staying clear of the platform and the oval itself, and located a control module. It worked on a positional system that was both space and time. It already was set to the Mojave location with the concurrent time but…

An epiphany leapt to her head, and Jessi adjusted the time. She rewound it to before the machine existed, and wondered if it would work without a receiver… but of course it would. After all, they had been able to place her in the Mojave location of _this_ place without a receiving machine there. She changed the location to her current location, Baylins woodland cabin, and adjusted the date and time to… the Prom. The night of the Prom, when Latnok first showed their hand.

With these numbers punched in, Jessi stepped through the machine.


	4. Farewell

Meta RetCon, _title_ ; the self-referential altering of continuity that has already occurred.

Epilogue

 _Farewell_

Cassidy snickered to himself as he slumped the girl's body into the back of the van. His mother _never_ let him in on her plans but she had this time. Far and away the music from the prom blared but that didn't deter him. He checked his phone for any updates but there were none, excellent. As he lowered his phone the figure ignited in white light and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him into the air. Needless to say he dropped the phone.

"Michael Cassidy! You will leave the United States and never, _ever_ return, do you understand me?!" The voice of metal and fire roared in his ears sending waves of paralysis running down his body.

"Y-y…" Cassidy sputtered and the figure threw him to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"Good enough for me."

Jessi was resting Amanda on a chair inside the building when Kyle raced into the room. He didn't recognize her through the veil but she scared him regardless.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking from her to Amanda.

"You don't need to worry about me, Kyle. Amanda is okay, she's safe but…" Jessi stepped towards him and he narrowed his eyes.

"…you need to keep an eye on her. Watch her closely, Kyle, protect those you care about and never drop your guard." She concluded and whisked past him.

She might have ended it there, but she didn't. She couldn't. Cassidy wasn't enough, and soon the lithe shadowy figure of Jessi stood before the Latnok members all assessing her from on high.

"I am Four, warlord of the Szokoveney! You are the controlling members of Latnok! As separate entities, we can fight a war that will result in the loss of all of our lives, but together… together we can help the world in untold ways. The days of Adam Baylin are over, let him and his legacy rest in peace. Leave the failures of Zzyzx to their lives. In return, I will end the Szokoveney and Latnok will be left to determine its own path forward without constantly checking over its back!" she roared triumphantly.

The Latnok board members muttered in dissent but eventually they all agreed to her terms. She knew they would, but had no idea how long it would last. Hopefully long enough for Kyle to grow to the point where he understood the stakes of his life. She had considered just killing them all, but if she was honest with herself destroying Adam had dulled her desire for revenge. Where she was, Kyle was safe and he was happy. Latnok being pacified was enough for her, for now.

The next stop was a familiar parking lot where she found her younger self sitting on a trunk looking up at the stars. She knew Sarah was inside packing up and that the young Jessi was imagining what the future held.

"Jessi." She said in the metallic voice, causing her younger self to jump.

"What the f-" young Jessi began but older Jessi held up her hand.

"Just listen. I know you're feeling conflicted and excited all at once. Don't be worried about Kyle, he's going to be just fine." She told her and removed her veil.

Young Jessi studied her features and promptly passed out. Jessi laughed and set her younger self in the passengers seat as Sarah walked down from the building entrance.

"Jessi?" She called.

Jessi turned and Sarah dropped the last box of her possessions. Jessi approached the stunned woman who looked at her in awe, her eyes trailing over the scar that marred her face.

"Take her somewhere warm and bright. She'll be happy there… and don't run away, Sarah. She needs you, more than you know." Jessi said.

Sarah could only nod and walk around her and into the car. Jessi watched until their tail lights disappeared into the night.

"Well that's all cleaned up nicely, all loose ends here tied… Good writing, Devin, good writing. Now, write me a way to The Deserters." She murmured and her HUD activated with a GPS ping.

"Thanks. Now, how about getting this old thing to fly for once?" and the gravitational manipulators surged with power.

Jessi smiled and the veil closed around her face as she flew into the night sky. Surprisingly, all three of The Deserter signals were in the same location and wouldn't you know it, it was some unmarked warehouse in downtown Seattle. When Jessi crashed through the roof the normally relaxed Szokoveney were rattled.

"Hello, number boys." She quipped.

"Who…?" Two managed to ask.

"Am I? That's a complicated question to answer. One, get over here." Jessi ordered, snapping her fingers and pointing beside her.

One glanced to the others and then dutifully slunk over to her. As soon as he was clear, she darted forward and in one fluid motion, she disabled both of the other suits. The veils disappeared and both men fell to the ground gasping and rasping and, finally, dying. Jessi turned back to One and he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Your mole operation is no longer needed, Mr. Baylin. I suggest you retire." She told him.

Adam removed his veil and glanced past her at the other two men.

"I… I can't believe it happened just like that. Those men…" he began but Jessi cut him off.

"They were monsters. They were insane. And now they're dead. You don't have to worry about them anymore, and you don't have to worry about Latnok at least for a little while." She told him which surprised him even further.

"Who… who _are_ you?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"Who I am doesn't matter, it's what I've given you that matters. Don't waste it, Baylin." She said sternly.

He just gaped at her as she flew away into the night.

Jessi landed on the edge of a tall cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She removed the veil and took a deep breath of the salty breeze, she listened to the waves crashing on the rocks below her. There was a failsafe that had been built into her suit and only her suit, in case she ever became too unruly for Two to control. She had always known about it but made sure to never activate it, no matter how bleak things got. It would terminate the subject inside the suit, and destroy all evidence of it ever having existed at all.

"Activate Farewell." She said, closing her eyes.

"Confirm, Activate Farewell?" the system queried.

The stars shone bright out here, brighter than in any city. It wasn't even dark over the waves, it was like a shifting blanket of universe that bent over the horizon and covered the sky. Jessi inhaled deeply and exhaled, seeing the war torn faces of her friends flash in front of her. A single tear escaped both of her eyes as she sighed a huge breath of relief. The dying Kyle from the warehouse faded from her memory and the Kyle that she spoke to tonight took his place. He had a future that was all his to make, maybe he would even meet up with the Jessi from this time again someday.

That thought made her smile and she opened her eyes and looked once more across the sea of stars.

"Confirm… Activate Farewell."

The End.


End file.
